Device to selectively control the expellers of automatic machines to punch cardboard sheets or the like

ABSTRACT

The device is designed for application in punching machines to sever and to remove scraps or waste material from the punched cardboard sheet. The device comprises a toothed clutch member 62, 64 inserted between the driving shaft 66 of the punching machine and a driven shaft 52, whereby a first cam 56 is keyed to said driven shaft. Said first cam is designed to control the pierced table 22 of the punching machine on which the punched sheet is arranged, whereas a second cam 102 is integral with the first cam and actuates a shaft 95 connected by means of a counter-lever 104 with a guiderail 93 to a support 40-42 to retain the punching tools 20 and 22, provided with springed expellers 26, said tools and the springed expeller means being arranged on a corresponding table, operated with the desired synchronism with respect to the other parts of the punching machine, to remove and expel the scraps from the punched sheet.

Ilnited tates Patent lErloa et all.

[111 I 51 Ieb. Ill, 1975 DEVICE T0 SELECTIVELY CUNTROL THE EXIELLERS 0F AUTOMATIC MACHINES T0 PUNCH CARDBOARD SHEETS OR THE LIKE PrimaryExaminerGranville Y. Custer, Jr. Assistant Examiner.lames F. Coan Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Woodlhams, Blanchard and Flynn [75] Inventors: Giancarlo lErba; Busto Arsizlo, both fV s Ital O are e y 57 ABSTRACT [73] Assignee: Officina Meccanica Erba & C. Soc. Th d d d f A. semplice, Varese Italy e evice IS esigne or app ication in punc mg machines to sever and to remove scraps or waste material Filedi y 1973 from the punched cardboard sheet. [2 1] Appl. No.: 361,464 The device comprises a toothed clutch member 62, 64 inserted between the driving shaft 66 of the punching machine and a driven shaft 52, whereby a first cam 56 [30] Foreign Apphcmmn Pnomy Dam is keyed to said driven shaft. Said first cam is designed May 25, i972 ltaly 24864/72 to control the pierced table 22 of the punching machine on which the punched sheet is arranged, Cl. 93/36 93/59 ES, 192/67 R whereas a second cam 102 is integral with the first cam and actuates a haft onne ted mean of a Field of Search 93/36 36 59 ES; counter-lever 104 with a guide-rail 93 to a support 192/67 67 P 40-42 to retain the punching tools 20 and 22, provided with springed expellers 26, said tools and the References Cited springed expeller means being arranged on 21 UNITED STATES PATENTS corresponding table, operated with the desired 2,779,257 1/1957 Jedlick 93/36A synchrpnism t respect to the: other Parts Of the 3,055,275 9/1962 Schroter 93/36A p g machine, to remove and p l the scraps 3,060,776 lO/l962 Bobst et al 93/36 A X from the punched sheet. 3,603,436 9/l97l Bartholomew..... 192/67 R X 3,653,304 4/1972 Lenoir 93/36 A x Clams, 4 Drawmg; Flgures Bl l4 l I 0 4 1 f6 70 \t H i i 26 4 \l E 0; o O

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PATENTED FEB] 1 I975 SHEEI 10F 3 DEVICE TO SELECTIVIELY CONTROL THE EXPELLERS OF AUTOMATIC MACHINES TO PUNCH CARDBOARD SHEETS OR THE LIKE This invention relates to a device designed for application in machines to punch used cardboard sheets for the production of boxes or the like and to control the actuation and deactivation of the expellers of said machines designed to sever and to remove scrap material or the like from the punched cardboard sheet.

In automatic punching machines of the type known in the art, the cardboard sheets are processed through several successive working stages, for instance conveyed through a number of processing stations, where said sheet is scored, cut and creased and where scraps or waste material are removed, at least in part, in order to realize the desired box.

The tools with which the above mentioned punching machines are equipped with require a synchronous control and, therefore, special transmissions. In the practice, it often occurs that certain tools are excluded from the operating cycle, due to the features of the objects to punch; for instance, the punching machines already known in the art have expeller units for two or several types of scraps, such units being actuated simultaneously in all cases and the disconnection whereof would require considerable modifications, to consent to the use of coupling members capable of re-instating, each time, the necessary synchronism of the various moving parts. Due to the presence of said members in the traditional punching machines, the structure thereof is most complicated and such as to jeopardize, in many cases, the realization of the desired purposes. Therefore, it is both advantageous and economically convenient, to maintain the whole number of tools of said machines connected and in operation. But, on the other hand, said solution causes quick wear and other drawbacks, because said known punching machines work at high speeds.

The purpose of the present invention is to permit the quick and uncomplicated connection and disconnection of the expeller control of an automatic punching machine, as well as to ensure the synchronism of the movable members of said machine.

Another purpose of the invention is to realize selected controls to actuate a predetermined number of expeller units in punching machines, i.e., to operate only such expellers as are necessary to perform exclusively such operations as the punching machine is expected to provide.

The device of the present invention, designed for application in punching machines wherein the carboard sheets are conveyed through a certain number of successive working stations including a scrap expeller station, such machines being provided with expeller tools and with a moving table which is actuated in synchronism with the other punching machine parts, is characterized in that the coupling members are inserted in the kinematic chain of said machine to connect the driving shaft of the punching machine with the driving mem- The invention will be now explained in the following description with reference to the annexed drawings, showing, by way of example, a preferred embodiment of the device mounted on an automatic punching machine provided with two expeller units.

In the drawings:

FIGS. 1A and 1B is a schematic, longitudinal crosssection of the punching machine at the expeller station.

FIGS. 2 and 3 are close-ups of FIG. 1 in enlarged scale, in cross-section and in elevation.

The punching machine to which the device of the present invention is applied, is of the type which comprises several working stations. In the drawings, the punching station is marked A and the next successive expeller station B.

The punching machine has bars 10 of the well known type, the ends whereof are connected with a pair of endless flexible members (not shown in the drawings), which extend all along said punching machine and each of said bars 10 is provided with advantageously actuated tweezers 12, to engage the front edge of cardboard sheet C and to convey said sheet in the direction of arrow X in FIG. 1, through the different working stations of the punching machine concerned.

The scoring and cutting station A comprises a fixed table A, to retain tools or punches A and a movable table A operated in synchronism with the other tools of the punching machine. The illustrated expeller station B includes furthermore a fixed table B and a movable table B situated below said fixed table. The fixed table B, has a frame 16 provided with traverses 18. Small profiled expelling blocks 20 are fixed to said traverses, such blocks being shaped according to the scrap material to be removed from sheet C. Said blocks 20 project, with a limited play, into corresponding openings provided in a table 22 situated below, for instance into a wooden table which formed part of movable table B In the illustrated case, frame 16 retains two expeller units, the first whereof consisting of shaped blocks 20 and the second of projections 24 or. the like, to remove the scraps having small surfaces from punched sheet C. The projections 24 project into openings formed in table 22 especially provided for this purpose, and cooperate with spring-urged opposed projections 26 mounted by supporting bars 28 which are retained by movable table B as will be explained in the following.

Frame 16 slides along vertical guides 30 and said frame is connected, by means of flexible members 32, with appropriate driving means. Said drives consist of cylinder-piston units fed with a pressurized fluid, for the quick removal of frame 16 from movable table B whereby said frame is shifted upwardly to position 16 of FIG. 1, in order to allow the substitution and the arrangement of expellers 20 and 24 on the traverses 18.

As previously mentioned, movable table B has two supporting members co-operating, in the desired succession, with the two expeller tools 20 and 24 respectively. The first supporting member consists of a frame formed with longitudinal beams 40' and with transversal beams 42. Said table 22 is fixed to the abovementioned frame 40-42. Frame 40-42 is vertically movable, in order to take three different positions, the first whereof, i.e., the maximum lifting position, is shown in FIG. 1. The second of said positions is the intermediate position, in which table 22 is moved away from expellers 20 and 24, in order to consent to the passage of cardboard sheet C and of bars 10, and whereas the third position corresponds to the off-work position (in which table 22 remains inactive) and is further lowered (with respect to the above mentioned second position).

Frame -42 is shifted by means of twin-cranks 44 and 45 keyed to corresponding shafts 46 and 47, the free ends whereof are connected with the longitudinal beams 40 by means of eccentric pivots 48 and 49 which permit the easy adjustment of the parallelism of frame 40-42 with fixed table 8,.

In consideration of the foregoing, twin-cranks 44-45 perform two angular displacements 1 and 2 respectively, to lift frame 40-42 from its lower active position to its upper active position (shown in FIG. 1), as well as to lower said frame to its deactivated position.

Counter-cranks 50 and 51, which are connected to each other by means of connecting rod 52, are keyed to shafts 46 and 47. Counter-crank 51 shows, at the free end thereof, a small roller 54 which comes into engagement with the grooved profile of an annular cam 56, shown in FIG. 3.

Cam 56 shows a slider 58, which is axially slidable along a grooved shaft 60 keyed to one of the elements 62 of a toothed coupling, the other element 64 whereof is integral with a shaft 66, Le, with the driving shaft of the punching machine wherefrom the drives to actuate the other punching machine tools are derived. Grooved shaft 60 is co-axial with shaft 66 and said shafts are torsionally connected to each other when coupling 62-64 is engaged, in such a way that the mutual angular position of said shaft is, at any time, duly ensured. For this purpose, coupling 62-64 has been realized in such a way as to show one projection and one single notch only, to meet the above-mentioned kinematic requirements.

Furthermore, a piston 68 is integral and co-axial with cam 56, said piston being slidably arranged in a corresponding cylinder 70, the chambers whereof are connected, by means of a rotatable sealing member 72, with a duct 73 ending in a distributor connected with a pressurized air tank.

When the punching machine is operated as usual, cylinder-piston unit 68-70 is fed with pressurized air, in order to disengage coupling 62-64 and neutralise the displacement of cranks 44 and 45, thereby annulling the displacements a of said cranks.

When toothed clutch 62-64 is operated, cam 56 causes an angular displacement a, (FIG. 1) of cranks 44 and 45 which causes, in turn, frame 40-42 either to lift or to lower. Supporting bars 28 for projections 26, are retained by means ofa complemental frame, which is parallel with frame 40-42 and is made of longitudinal girders and of transversal girders 82, designed to retain traverses 84 designed to retain, in turn, the abovementioned bars 28.

Main frame 40-42 and complemental frame 80-82 are guided during the sliding motion thereof, along respective columns 84 and 85 shown by the main frame and by other parts of the punching machine. The vertical displacement of complemental frame 80-82 is derived from the drive of main frame 40-42. In other words, longitudinal girders 80 of the complemental frame engage, by means of pivots 86 and 87, one of the ends of square levers 88 and 89, fulcrumed to the longitudinal girders 40 of frame 40-42. The other arms of square levers 88 and 89 are provided with rollers 90 and 91 which are in engagement with corresponding 7 as to form orientatable links. Cranks 96 and 97 are keyed to the above-mentioned shafts 94 and said cranks being connected to each otherby means of a connecting rod 98. A lever 100 (see FIGS. 2 and 3) is loosely mounted on shaft 95 and the free end of said lever cooperates with the profile of a cam 102 integral with the aforementioned cam 56. Furthermore, a counter-lever 104 is keyed to shaft 95, said lever being provided with adjustable stops 105. A nose 106, which is integral with the main frame of the punching machine, co-operates with said adjustable stops 105. Lever 100 and counter-lever 104 can be locked to each other by means of a springed latch 108 mounted on lever 100 and which can be brought in engagement with a hole of said counter-lever 104. [n such a way it is possible to realize a kinematic connection between shaft 66 and 95, to drive auxiliary frame 80-82.

The adjustable stops shown by counter-lever 104 are advantageosly adjusted in such a way to impart, to guide-rails 92-93, two limit-positions within angle a i.e., between a vertical position of crank 100 (which excludes the drive of auxiliary frame 80-82) and an inclined position, to actuate said frame 80-82 with the necessary synchronism.

Another adjustable stop 110 retains lever 100 in a position of permanent disengagement from cam 102, when latch 108 is disengaged from counter-lever 104, whereas clutch 62-64 is actuated by means of a grip 112 integral with a rod 114 and said grip acts on a lever 115 which engages a groove shown by the movable element 62 of clutch 62-64. From the foregoing, the performance of the above described device in relation with the operation of the punching machine can be clearly and readily understood.

Supposing that the work to carry out with the punching machine of the present invention requires the operation of both expeller units 20 and 24, then both clutches 62-64 and 108 are operated.

Pressurized air is fed into the cylinder-piston unit 68-70 (FIG. 3).to displace piston 68 and cam 56 in the direction of arrow Y. Therefore, counter-cranks 50-51 are forwarded to the intermediate position which lies between limit-position a1 and a2 and coupling 62-64 is engaged. When shaft 66 rotates, it actuates earns 56 and 102, the first whereof imparts to crankmechanisms 44-45 and oscillatory motion having an angular width al, to move frame 40-42 upward.

Expellers 20 and 24 are thus brought into engagement with the punched areas of cardboard-sheet C, to detach and expel said areas or scraps, and whereas cam 102 also actuates lever 100 and counter-lever 104 and therefore guide-rails 92, 93 which perform as oscillation a to incline the axis of said rails with respect to the vertical. As square levers 88-89 are fulcrumed to frame 40-42, said levers are caused to oscillate during the to-and-fro motion of said frame and, during the lifting motion of main frame 40-42, auxiliary frame 80-82 is also lifted, in order to engage the springed urged projections against the lower surface of the scraps which are contacted by said projections 26, to ensure the removal of the small-sized scraps, since frame 40-42 moves downward with a certain delay with respect to the downward motion of complemental frame 80-82, in such a way that projections 26, which are subjected to the action of springs, provide for the removal of the scraps from carboard-sheet C. Furthermore, owing to the special profile shown by cam 102, frame 80-82 is caused to move downward first and then frame 40-42, whereafter said frame 40-42 which is the main frame and said secondary frame 80-82 are returning simultaneously to their upper position and table 22 is in its starting position, in order to repeat the abovedescribed operating cycle.

If it is necessary to process sheet C in accordance with certain special requirements, the motion of expellers 26 can be stopped by releasing latch 1108 from counter-lever 104, so as to disengage lever 100 which, as it disengages from cam 102, is retained in said disengaged position by means of stop 110. Furthermore, counter-lever 104 is caused to oscillate over a certain width which is established by adjustable stops 105 in order to dispose guide-rails 92-93 in a vertical position. It follows that during the upward and downward motion which is performed by main frame 40-42, auxiliary frame 80-82 is at a standstill with respect to the main frame, that is, said auxiliary frame follows the motion of said main frame.

The disengagement of clutch 62-64 stops the to-andfro motion of main frame 40-42, as well as of auxiliary frame 80-82. When cylinder-piston unit 68-70 is deactivated and the pressurized air discharged from cylinder 70, piston 68 is again caused to enter into said cylinder and cam 56 and hence also lever 51 are moved in a direction opposite to that of arrow Y, whereas cranks 44-45 are shifted over angle 112, in order to drag frame 40-42, together with auxiliary frame 80-82, downward. It is thus possible to provide of ample space between the upper surface of table 22 and bars 10, to consent to the introduction of frames 40-42 and 80-82, as well as the extraction thereof and of such equipments as must be laid on table A whereas the necessary checking and adjusting operations can be easily performed without encountering obstacles and without the need to remove said frames from the punching machine.

Modifications and variations can be brought to the above described and illustrated device, according to the requirements which must be met, without-exceeding the limits of the protection sought forthe present invention which extends as well to the punching machine which incorporates the device claimed with the above described and illustrated invention.

We claim:

1. An apparatus for ejecting cut-out portions of a sheet, comprising:

ejector frame means having a plurality of first ejecting elements projecting therefrom;

table means disposed opposite said frame means and coacting therewith for permitting said ejecting members to remove the cut-out portions from said sheet, said table means including a first support device and a table fixed to said support device, said table being adaptable to have said sheet deposited thereon and also having a plurality of openings therein which cooperate with the first ejecting elements for permitting removal of said cut-out portions;

a second support device movably mounted relative to said first support device and a plurality of second ejecting elements mounted on said second support device and disposed on the side of said table opposite said frame'means, said second ejecting element being disposed directly opposite at least some of the first ejecting elements whereby the sheet when supported on said table is positionable therebetween;

drive means for causing relative movement of said table means toward and away from said frame means so that said first ejecting elements remove said cut-out portions when said frame means and table means are moved relatively toward one another, said drive means including aligned driving and driven members and first linkage means drivingly connected between said driven member and one of said first support device and said frame means;

said drive means further including first disengageable clutch means coacting between said driving and driven members for permitting said driven member to be drivingly coupled to said driving member only when said members are in a selected angular relationship with one another, thereby insuring the necessary synchronism of the various parts of the apparatus; and

said drive means still further including second linkage means drivingly connected between said driven member and said second support device for causing movement of said second ejecting elements toward and away from said first ejecting elements, said second linkage means including second disengageable clutch means for permitting deactivation of the second support device and the second ejecting elements independently of said first ejecting elements.

2. An apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said first linkage means is drivingly coupled to said first support device and includes a plurality of spaced crank mechanisms for causing said first support device and the table mounted thereon to undergo an oscillating motion.

3. An apparatus according to claim 2, whereby said second linkage means includes a second plurality of crank mechanisms drivingly connected to said second support device for causing same to undergo an oscillating motion.

4. An apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said first linkage means includes a first cam nonrotatably coupled to said driven member and first lever means having first follower means engaged with said first cam for causing oscillation of said first lever means in response to rotation of said first cam, and said second linkage means including a second cam nonrotatably coupled to said driven member and second lever means having second follower means associated therewith and engageable with said second cam for causing oscillation of said second lever means in response to rotation of said second cam.

5. An apparatus according to claim 4, wherein said means and said second support device, said intermediate lever means being fulcrumed on said first support device.

7. An apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said first linkage means causes said first support device, when said first clutch means is engaged, to be moved toward said frame means from a first operative but disengaged position into a second engaged position wherein said first ejecting elements project into the openings formed in said table, and auxiliary driving means coacting with said first linkage means for selectively permitting said first support device to be moved away from said frame means into a third inactive position which it is spaced on the other side of said second position from said first position.

8. An apparatus according to claim 7, wherein said first linkage means includes a rotatable cam which is nonrotatably coupled to said driven member, and said auxiliary driving means including a fluid pressure cylinder drivingly coupled to said cam for shifting same axially to cause a corresponding movement of said first linkage means and of said first support device between said first and third positions.

9. An apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said first linkage means includes a pair of first crank mechanisms drivingly coupled to said first support device and each including a first crank having a pair of arms, each crank being pivotally mounted relative to a stationary base of the machine and having one arm thereof pivotally coupled to said first support device, said first cranks being disposed with the pivot axes thereof parallel but transversely spaced from one another, and a connecting rod extending between and pivotally coupled to the other arm of said first cranks for causing said first cranks to move synchronously with one an other, said first linkage 'means also including first cam means drivingly coupled to said driven member and coacting with one of said first cranks for causing angular oscillation thereof in response to rotation of said first cam means.

10. An apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said second linkage means includes a pair of crank mechanisms pivotally connected to said second support device, said crank mechanisms each including a first crank pivotally fulcrumed on said first support device and having a first arm portion pivotally connected to said second support device, said first cranks being disposed with the pivot axes thereof parallel but transversely spaced from one another, each of said crank mechanisms including a second pivotally supported crank which is pivotally connected to a second arm of a respective one of the first cranks, an elongated connecting rod extending between said second cranks for causing synchronous movement thereof, and interme diate link means connected between one of said second cranks and said driven member, said intermediate link means including a cam nonrotatably coupled to said driven member and said second clutch means being associated with said intermediate link means. 

1. An apparatus for ejecting cut-out portions of a sheet, comprising: ejector frame means having a plurality of first ejecting elements projecting therefrom; table means disposed opposite said frame means and coacting therewith for permitting said ejecting members to remove the cut-out portions from said sheet, said table means including a first support device and a table fixed to said support device, said table being adaptable to have said sheet deposited thereon and also having a plurality of openings therein which cooperate with the first ejecting elements for permitting removal of said cut-out portions; a second support device movably mounted relative to said first support device and a plurality of second ejecting elements mounted on said second support device and disposed on the side of said table opposite said frame means, said second ejecting element being disposed directly opposite at least some of the first ejecting elements whereby the sheet when supported on said table is positionable therebetween; drive means for causing relative movement of said table means toward and away from said frame means so that said first ejecting elements remove said cut-out portions when said frame means and table means are moved relatively toward one another, said drive means including aligned driving and driven members and first linkage means drivingly connected between said driven member and one of said first support device and said frame means; said drive means further including first disengageable clutch means coacting between said driving and driven members for permitting said driven member to be drivingly coupled to said driving member only when said members are in a selected angular relationship with one another, thereby insuring the necessary synchronism of the various parts of the apparatus; and said drive means still further including second linkage means drivIngly connected between said driven member and said second support device for causing movement of said second ejecting elements toward and away from said first ejecting elements, said second linkage means including second disengageable clutch means for permitting deactivation of the second support device and the second ejecting elements independently of said first ejecting elements.
 2. An apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said first linkage means is drivingly coupled to said first support device and includes a plurality of spaced crank mechanisms for causing said first support device and the table mounted thereon to undergo an oscillating motion.
 3. An apparatus according to claim 2, whereby said second linkage means includes a second plurality of crank mechanisms drivingly connected to said second support device for causing same to undergo an oscillating motion.
 4. An apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said first linkage means includes a first cam nonrotatably coupled to said driven member and first lever means having first follower means engaged with said first cam for causing oscillation of said first lever means in response to rotation of said first cam, and said second linkage means including a second cam nonrotatably coupled to said driven member and second lever means having second follower means associated therewith and engageable with said second cam for causing oscillation of said second lever means in response to rotation of said second cam.
 5. An apparatus according to claim 4, wherein said second linkage means includes third swingable lever means positioned adjacent said second lever means, said first and second lever means each being swingable about a common pivot axis, and said second clutch means coacting between said second and third lever means for permitting same to be drivingly coupled together.
 6. An apparatus according to claim 5, wherein said second linkage means includes intermediate lever means pivotally connected between said third lever means and said second support device, said intermediate lever means being fulcrumed on said first support device.
 7. An apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said first linkage means causes said first support device, when said first clutch means is engaged, to be moved toward said frame means from a first operative but disengaged position into a second engaged position wherein said first ejecting elements project into the openings formed in said table, and auxiliary driving means coacting with said first linkage means for selectively permitting said first support device to be moved away from said frame means into a third inactive position which it is spaced on the other side of said second position from said first position.
 8. An apparatus according to claim 7, wherein said first linkage means includes a rotatable cam which is nonrotatably coupled to said driven member, and said auxiliary driving means including a fluid pressure cylinder drivingly coupled to said cam for shifting same axially to cause a corresponding movement of said first linkage means and of said first support device between said first and third positions.
 9. An apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said first linkage means includes a pair of first crank mechanisms drivingly coupled to said first support device and each including a first crank having a pair of arms, each crank being pivotally mounted relative to a stationary base of the machine and having one arm thereof pivotally coupled to said first support device, said first cranks being disposed with the pivot axes thereof parallel but transversely spaced from one another, and a connecting rod extending between and pivotally coupled to the other arm of said first cranks for causing said first cranks to move synchronously with one another, said first linkage means also including first cam means drivingly coupled to said driven member and coacting with one of said first cranks for causing angular oscillation thereof in response to rotation of said first cam means.
 10. An apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said second linkage means includes a pair of crank mechanisms pivotally connected to said second support device, said crank mechanisms each including a first crank pivotally fulcrumed on said first support device and having a first arm portion pivotally connected to said second support device, said first cranks being disposed with the pivot axes thereof parallel but transversely spaced from one another, each of said crank mechanisms including a second pivotally supported crank which is pivotally connected to a second arm of a respective one of the first cranks, an elongated connecting rod extending between said second cranks for causing synchronous movement thereof, and intermediate link means connected between one of said second cranks and said driven member, said intermediate link means including a cam nonrotatably coupled to said driven member and said second clutch means being associated with said intermediate link means. 